Editorial | Rubbertown alert

Mar. 23, 2011

An explosion Monday evening at Carbide Industries in Louisville's Rubbertown neighborhood took the lives of two employees, Steve Nichols and Jorge Medina, who were badly burned in the incident. Beyond the tragic loss of life also came another loss — one of confidence among neighbors of the plant who were left too long to wonder what the black smoke coming out of the chemical plant meant, what it bore and whether they were in any danger.

In the days since the explosion, explanations of the delay in communicating solid information to those in range of the smoke have been quick in coming.

Although air tests showed there had been no chemical leak after the 5:40 p.m. explosion, Louisville police did not know that when they asked MetroSafe Communications dispatchers to have the National Weather Service advise people within a mile of the plant to stay indoors; that advisory was issued about 6:25 p.m.

But it took Carbide Industries almost 90 minutes to update an emergency hot line used by Rubbertown factories to alert residents about unusual events at the plants. The information is supposed to be posted on the phone line within 30 minutes.

Clearly, there is plenty of room for improvement here, and Mayor Greg Fischer promised “to take a look at what we can do better.”

Immediate changes include MetroSafe assuming responsibility in notifying residents of unusual events at the neighborhood plants; that means MetroSafe will update the emergency hot line for residents until another procedure is in place.

If no one was whooping for joy at that news, there is good reason.

Even before the confusion and delay of notifications involving Monday's explosion, the city was smarting after its tornado sirens didn't sound during a tornado warning on Feb. 28. That failure by MetroSafe, the entity chosen to ensure better communication after Monday's explosion, was chalked up to a combination of human and mechanical error.

In the review of what went wrong with the tornado sirens, Doug Hamilton, the director of the city's Emergency Management Agency, already has been talking with companies that provide emergency notifications.

Given what they knew at the time of the explosion, first responders including police acted in the public's interest by assuming the worst. They — like the neighbors — deserved better.

“I realize that we now live in a world where everybody wants to have information instantaneously,” Mr. Fischer said on Tuesday. “In order for that to happen on incidents like this, the city will need to make a personal investment in order to bring in the technology to do that.”

The city must make that investment so all residents, not just those who live in Rubbertown, can breathe — and rest — easier.